The Terrapins (10-3) had three key players out of the lineup because of injuries. Forwards Justin Jackson (shoulder soreness) and Bruno Fernando (ankle sprain) missed their second straight game. Guard Dion Wiley (sick) was also unable to play.

Ivan Bender and Cowan hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 10-2 run to start the second half, extending Maryland's lead to 47-33. From there, the Terrapins were not threatened the rest of the way.

Huerter and Nickens hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc and Maryland led 53-35 with 14:32 remaining. The Terrapins, who have won four straight, played tighter man-to-man defense and finished with seven steals.

A dunk by Huerter boosted the margin to 60-38 and coach Mark Turgeon was able to rotate players. Maryland's deep bench outscored Catholic 24-4.

The Cardinals did not have travel far for this matchup, driving about 3.5 miles from their Washington campus to XFINITY Center. Howard scored eight points and Catholic managed to take a 17-13 with just over 12:33 left in the first half.

The Terrapins took their first lead, 18-17, when Nickens hit a jumper with 9:42 remaining. Catholic, though, would not go away easily. The Cardinals' Jimmy Golaszewski (11 points) tied the game 27-27 with 4:39 left.

Howard made a layup in the final seconds and Catholic trailed just 37-31 at the half.

Maryland improved to 13-10 all-time in this series, which began during its first varsity season in 1910-11. Maryland won the last matchup against the Cardinals, 113-79, on Dec. 10, 1978.

The Terrapins entered the game shooting 50 percent from the floor this season, which ranked first in the Big Ten. That trend continued as Maryland went 26 of 51 (51 percent) against the Cardinals. Turgeon was able to get a look at several players who are competing for minutes.

The Terrapins have nine days off until they host Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 21.